Multiple needle sewing machine



.May 12, 1936. E. E. BOYCE 2,040,427

MULTIPLE NEEDLE SEWL NG MAQHINE Filed Feb. 27, 1935' 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

ATTQRNEY.

' EHs'K/NE E. Boa :5

May 12, 1936.

E. E. BOYCE MULTIPLE NEEDLE SEWING MACHINE Filed Feb. 27 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. HsK/NE E. Ems cs ATTORNEY.

Patented May 12, 1936 PATENT OFFICE MULTIPLE NEEDLE SEWING MACHINE Erskine E. Boyce, Gastonia, N. 0., assignor to The Boysell Company, Gastonia, N. 0., a corporation of North Carolina Application February 27, 1935, Serial No. 8,545

8 Claims.

-My present invention relates to sewing Machines of the multiple needle or gang type, especially designed for use in producing tufted fabrics, such as bath mats, rugs, and the like.

In the accompanying drawings, I have shown a multiple needle sewing machine in which the needle actuating mechanism is the same as disclosed in my Patent 1,984,331.

The objects of the present invention include the provision of turfing mechanism permitting a closer grouping of the needles, and preferably including a plurality of rotatable cutting discs adapted to cooperate with the loop catching fingers to form an even tufting or relatively thick pile on one surface of a fabric.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for moving the cutters, as the needles pierce the fabric to form the loops, out of cutting relation with respect to the fingers, so that the threads will not be severed before the loops are formed.

Another object of the invention is'to provide means operable, after the loops have been formed and during the return stroke of the needles, to

take the surplus slack out of the threads or yarn after the fingershave caught the loops.

All of the objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and will be pointed out during the course of the following detailed description of the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a front elevation of parts of a machine including the needle carrier, turfing mechanism, slack take up, and operating parts therefor;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a right side elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1 with parts in section; and

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the driving means for the cutters.

L0 The numeral 5 designates the needles which are mounted in needle bars 6, adapted to be selectively latched and unlatched by the mechanism designated generally by the numeral 1 in Fig. 3, which mechanism is the same as that shown and 5 described in detail in Fig. 3 of my said prior patent. The carrier 8 has its ends slidably mounted on guides or tracks 9, and is connected as at It], to rods H, actuated by eccentrics l2 on the shaft l3, in the same manner as disclosed in my said 0 prior patent, so that the carrier 8 will be reciprocated up and down to cause the needles to pass through openings in the throat plate l4, across which the fabric F is moved by any suitable mechanism. Above and forwardly of the head 5 8 is ashaft l5 having secured to its ends anarm l6 carrying a lug or pin l! which engages a cam disc l8 keyed to a driven shaft I9. Carried by the shaft I 5 for reciprocating movement therewith are arms 20, and a bar or rod 2| is mounted between the arms 20 and secured thereto as by 5 means of bolts 22. The bar 2| is located parallel to and in alinement with the head 8 for cooperation therewith in gripping the threads as shown in Fig. 2. The bar 2| is preferably covered with felt or equivalent material to engage the threads 1 and hold them against the head during the return or upward movement of the needles. The bar 2| is established in the dotted line position of Fig. 2 as the needles descend, so that it does not grip the threads as the head and needles move 15 down, and is moved to the full line position of Fig. 2 during the upward or return movement of the head and needles.

The foregoing movements of the bar 2| are effected through the cam l8 and arm I6, because 20 as the shaft l9 rotates the cam I8, the lug I! being engaged by the cam imparts oscillating movements to the arm [6, shaft I5, arms 20, and consequently to bar or rod 2| carried by said arms 20. The relative timing of the movements of the bar or rod 2| relative to the head 8 is obtained by proper adjustment of the cam l8, it being understood that the shafts l3 and I 9, by any suitable connections such as gearing, aredriven in unison from a common source or by a 30 common actuator.

The turfing mechanism is arranged beneath the throat plate M, which is supported on the frame 25 of the machine, as indicated at Fig. 3. The fingers 26 which receive the loops are mounted at corresponding intervals along the bar 2'], being rigidly connected to the bar for reciprocating movements therewith as presently explained. There is a finger 26 for each of the needles, and the fingers are arranged in alinement with the needles beneath the throat plate It. The plate 2'! is mounted between and carried by shafts 28 slidably mounted through supports 29 on the frame, and spaced lugs 30, 3i, are carried by the shafts 28, being secured thereto as by means of bolts 32 passing through collars 33 of the lugs and engaging the shafts 28. Double cams 34 are keyed on the shaft l9. and are located between lugs 30 and 3|. Obviously, as the cams 34 rotate, the lugs 30 and 3| are alternately engaged and moved in reverse directions, so that the shafts 28 and plate 21 carried thereby, as well as fingers 26 are reciprocatedback and forth. The arrangement is such that the fingers move toward the needles when they pierce the cloth to receive the loops formed on the underside of the fabric and move reversely as the needles ascend. It is at this time that the bar 2| grips the threads against the head 8, taking out or preventing surplus of slack in the threads as they are pulled back through the cloth and throat plate. Thus the movements of the needles, loop receiving fingers, and thread engaging bar are synchronized.

The cutters are preferably operated by an independent drive so that they constantly rotate whether the loop forming mechanism is in operation or not. The cutters are shown as being discs, one for each finger 26, and designated by the numeral 35. The cutter discs are mounted on a shaft 36 journaled in ball bearings 31. The shaft 36 and ball bearings 31 are carried by arms 38 fulcrumed on a stationary shaft v39. Connecting rods 40 are connected to the arms 38 as at 4|, and the said connecting rods are mounted on eccentrics 40 on shaft 13, so that the arms 38 will be swung on the fulcrums 39 to raise the shaft 36 and cutters 35 as the needles ascend, and to lower the cutters as the needles descend. It will be noted that the shaft l3 which operates the arms 38 to raise and lower the cutters is the same one that operates the rods II to raise and lower the head 8. Thus the relative movements of the needles and cutters are synchronized.

As previously mentioned, the cutter blades or discs are preferably constantly rotated, that is, may be rotating when the other parts of the machine are stopped. 'In Figs. 1 and 4, I have shown the means for eifecting rotation of the shaft 36 and cutter blades carried thereby as being in the nature of pulleys 43 keyed to the shaft 36, and having trained thereover belts 44, which pass also around pulleys 45 and 46. The pulleys 45, we will call the driving pulley and the shaft 41 to which they are keyed may be driven by any suitable source of power. The pulleys 46 are idlers and their supporting shaft 48 is resiliently, or yieldably mounted on the support 49, so that as the pulleys 43 are raised and lowered with the shaft 36, the slack in the belts will be taken up by the movement of the shaft 48 and pulleys 46.

Preferably the underfaces of the fingers 26, which receive the loops, are grooved so that the discs may enter the grooves when cutting the threads or loops. Obviously if the discs fixedly engage the fingers instead of intermittently being raised and lowered with respect thereto, the discs would also engage the threads carried by the needles and cut them before the loopers had a chance to catch and tighten the loops.

While I have shown and described in this application a plurality of rotary cutters, I wish it to be understood that I contemplate using the constantly reciprocating blade cutters, such as shown and described in my prior patent, 1,963,348, instead of the rotating discs. It will be noted that in the said patent as in the present case, separate means is provided for reciprocating the blades, so that they operate whether the other parts are operating or not.

I claim:

1. In turfing mechanism of the character described, a plurality of needles, means to collectively reciprocate said needles and cause them to pierce a fabric and form loops on one side thereof, a plurality of loop receiving fingers,

means to reciprocate said fingers transversely to the path of movement of the needles to receive said loops, a plurality of loop cutting elements.

a common support for said elements, and means said fingers in synchronism with the movements to move said support'and elements thereon toward and away from said fingers in synchronism with the movements of the needles to sever the loops.

2. In turfing mechanism of the character described, a plurality of needles, means to collectively reciprocate said needles and cause them to pierce a fabric and form loops on one side thereof, a plurality of loop receiving fingers, means to reciprocate said fingers transversely to the path of movement of the needles to receive said loops, a plurality of loop severing discs, a common support for said discs, means to move said support and discs thereon toward and away from of the needles, and means for simultaneously rotating said discs on said support during said movements thereof to sever loops on said fingers.

3. In turfing mechanism of the character described, a plurality of needles, means to collectively reciprocate said needles and cause them to pierce a fabric and form loops on one side thereof, a plurality of loop receiving fingers, means to reciprocate said fingers transversely to the path of movement of the needles to receive said loops, a plurality of loop severing discs, a common support for said discs, means to move said support and discs thereon toward and away from said fingers in synchronism with the movements of the needles, and means for simultaneously rotating said discs on said support during said movements thereof to sever loops on said fingers, said last means being operable independently of the said other means.

4. In turfing mechanism of the character described, a plurality of needles, means to collectively reciprocate saidneedles and cause them to pierce a fabric and form loops on one side thereof, a plurality of loop receiving fingers, means to reciprocate saidflngers transversely to the path of movement of the needles to receive said loops, a shaft beneath said fingers, a plurality of cutting elements carried by said shaftfmeans to raise and lower said shaft relatively to the fingers and in synchronism with the ,movements of the needles to establish said elements in cutting relation with respect to the fingers to sever loops on the fingers when the needles are out of the fabric, and also to establish said elements out of cutting relation with respect to the fingers when the needles pierce the fabric. I

5. In turfing mechanism of the character described, a plurality of needles, means to collectively reciprocate said needles and cause them to pierce a fabric and form loops on one side thereof, a plurality of loop receiving fingers, means to reciprocate said fingers transversely to the path of movement of the needles to receive said loops, a shaft beneath the fingers, means tively reciprocate said needles and cause them 7 to pierce a fabric and form loops on one side thereof, a plate over which the fabric is fed and through which the needles operate, an elongated bar beneath said plate, a plurality of fingers fixedly secured to said bar and extending toward 1| the needles to receive said loops, reciprocable supports for said bar, abutments on said supports, cams located between said abutments a1- ternately engageable therewith to cause the bar and fingers carried thereby to have reciprocating movements synchronized with the movements of the needles.

7. In turfing mechanism of the character described, a plurality of needles, means to collectively reciprocate said needles and cause them to pierce a fabric and form loops on one side thereof, a plate over which the fabric is fed and through which the needles operate, an elongated bar beneath said plate, a plurality of fingers fixedly-secured to said bar and extending toward the needles to receive said loops, reciprocable supports for said bar, abutments on said supports, cams located between said abutments alternately engageable therewith to cause the bar and fingers carried thereby to have reciprocating movements synchronized with the movements 01' the needles, a plurality of cutting elements alined with said fingers, and means to move said elements collecmeans to sever the loops mounted in spaced relation and parallel to the tively away from said fingers as the fingers move toward the needles and receive the loops therefrom, and to move said elements toward said fingers as the needles ascend and the fingers move in reverse direction with the loops thereon.

8. In a sewing machine of the character de-,

scribed, a plurality of needles, means to reciprocate said needles to cause them to pierce a fabric and formv loops ,on one side thereof, a plurality of loop receiving fingers to receive said loops, on said fingers, a bar means carrying the needles, and between which and said means the threads or yarns passto the needles, and means to move said bar to engage said threads or yarn and grip them against the needle carrying means as the needles ascend and while the loops are caught, and to move said bar out of gripping relation with respect to the lil threads or yarns as the needles descend to pierce 20 the fabric.

ERSKINE E. BOYCE. 

